Gloria on Capitol Hill in Washington DC speaking out for the Chimps

Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in U.S. Laboratories

DC-Area Member Invitation Congressional Briefing Fate of Chimpanzees in the U.S. and the Great Ape Protection Act, H.R. 1326 Thursday, June 25, 2009 10:00 am - 12:00 pm (EST) Rayburn House Office Building Room 2247 South Capitol St. SE & Independence Ave. SW Washington, DC 20515 RSVP Jennifer Campbell, Director of Member Services NEAVS/ Project R&R, by June 23, 2009 Dear NEAVS/Project R&R DC-area member, You are cordially invited to join NEAVS/Project R&R and the HSUS for a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill. Learn more about the Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 1326) and have a unique opportunity to hear from experts, including Fauna Sanctuary Founder and Project R&R Co-Chair Gloria Grow and NEAVS/Project R&R President Theodora Capaldo, EdD. Your presence is an important way to show Congressional leaders that the American public support an end to the use of chimpanzees and all Great Apes in research! The panel of speakers includes: Chairman Edolphus "Ed" Towns (D-NY), lead Congressional sponsor of the Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 1326) Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO, The Humane Society of the United States Kathleen Conlee, Director of Program Management of Animal Research Issues, The Humane Society of the U.S. Theodora Capaldo, Ed.D., President & Executive Director, NEAVS/Project R&R: Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in U.S. Laboratories Linda Brent, President & Director, Chimp Haven, Inc., the National Chimpanzee Sanctuary System Gloria Grow, Founder & Director, Fauna Foundation Sanctuary and Co-Chair of NEAVS/Project R&R Refreshments will be provided. The Rayburn House Office Building is on the corner of South Capitol St. SE and Independence Ave. SW (map). The closest Metro is Capitol South. We hope you can attend this special event! As there is limited room, we suggest you RSVP as soon as possible - no later than June 23, 2009.

Videos renew debate on military use of animals

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/05/military.animals.training (CNN) -- Newly released videos are raising questions about the military's continued use of live animals in simulated battlefield medical training. In the military training video, a monkey is monitored after being given a simulated nerve agent. The military training videos were acquired by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine under the Freedom of Information Act. The PCRM claims the videos, which show the use of monkeys and goats in medical training, are evidence that the military is violating its own animal-welfare regulations. Military officials counter that the training is legal and vital to saving the lives of service members in the field. In one of the training videos, a live vervet monkey is anesthetized and then injected with a dose of physostigmine, a simulated nerve agent. The drug simulates some of the effects of a nerve agent, including increased perspiration, muscle spasms and difficulty in breathing. The military says trainees observe the effects of the physostigmine and then take steps to relieve them, injecting the animal with an antidote. The animal's complete recovery takes about 90 minutes, according to the military. "The animals recover completely and display no behavioral or physical ill effects from the exercise," a military spokesman said in an e-mail about the procedure. "No animal has ever died as a result of the exercise." In another video, a medical instructor uses a scalpel to slice open the leg of an anesthetized goat. The video goes on to show medical personnel applying a tourniquet and then dressing the wound. A third video shows a chest tube being inserted into an anesthetized goat. Jamie Campbell, a former U.S. Army medic, says the use of animals in medical training was "most definitely" an asset to him. "It was something you can't experience anywhere else," Campbell told CNN. "As of right now I don't believe there are simulations that can simulate the combat environment," Campbell said. "Patients move, arteries retract, the feel of blood, the feel of muscle, the feel of tissue -- that's something I don't feel a manikin or a video can simulate." Campbell did say, however, that the use of monkeys in simulated nerve-agent exercises might not be necessary. "With this type of scenario, an alternative may be able to be used. You know convulsions. You know vomiting, things that can be acted out ... this is something I think they could find an alternative to." The former medic also said that no amount of training can truly replicate real combat. "Working on an animal -- although it replicates a lot of the injuries -- it can never replicate working on the guy you talked to a half-hour ago. Or working on the person who showed you pictures of his daughter," Campbell said. "But working on the goat trained a lot of medics to save lives, and without that training, how many more casualties would we have had?" The PCRM argues that the use of monkeys and goats in the exercises is against military policy and that alternative training methods are available. "Battlefield medics and others caring for our troops should receive state-of-the-art, human-centered training," the PCRM's Hope Ferdowsian said in a news release. "Training with goats and monkeys is inhumane and violates military animal welfare regulations. It also offers an inferior educational experience. "Treating a goat with an artificially created wound is very different from caring for a human casualty," Ferdowsian added. The PCRM, joined by 17 former military doctors and medics, has filed a Petition for Enforcement with the Army surgeon general and other military leaders to halt the practices. The organization says one of the former military doctors calling for a halt to the practices is retired U.S. Navy Capt. Charles Rosciam of the Medical Service Corps. Rosciam served 13 months in combat and treated more than 100 casualties, the PCRM says. Military officials say the use of animals is conducted under strict compliance with animal welfare regulations. "We are dedicated to employing the best available training techniques to prepare our medical care providers to treat battlefield injuries while minimizing the use of live animals," the military spokesman said. "To this end, the Medical Chemical Biological Casualty course makes extensive use of manikins and computer-based training."

Chimp Bites Off Berlin Zoo Director's Finger

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,629309,00.html

06/08/2009 06:27 PM

Was it an accident, greed or revenge for being locked up? A chimpanzee called Pedro made a name for himself on Monday by biting off the forefinger of Berlin Zoo's director.
A chimpanzee called Pedro bit off the forefinger of Berlin Zoo director Bernhard Blaszkiewitz on Monday as he was trying to feed him through the bars of his cage.
A spokeswoman for the zoo said Blaszkiewitz, 55, had been leading a group round the zoo and wanted to hand Pedro a snack through the bars when the chimp grabbed his arm and bit off almost all of his forefinger. "It was just hanging by a shred of skin," local daily "B.Z." quoted an eyewitness as saying.
Blaszkiewitz was rushed to hospital where doctors tried to sew his finger back on. Zookeepers said their boss hadn't stuck to the safety rules that he kept on reminding them about -- maintaining distance to the animals. Chimpanzees are known to be potentially dangerous.
Blaszkiewitz kept calm despite his wound. "He wasn't any more upset than if someone had trodden on his foot," the spokeswoman said.
The zoo couldn't immediately be reached on Monday evening to ascertain whether the operation was successful and whether Pedro has had his banana rations cut.
Blaszkiewitz presided over the hand-rearing of polar bear cub Knut in 2007. The bear became an international media celebrity and brought the zoo a surge in visitor numbers and profits.

Farm animal welfare not impressive

Unlike Canada, EU surges ahead on animal welfare reform

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/645184

Jun 04, 2009 05:32 AM

PETER FRICKER
PROJECTS AND COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, VANCOUVER HUMANE SOCIETY


Gordie&Maurice at Fauna

The recent uproar over Canada's seal hunt (and the Governor General's
appetite for seal heart) saw widespread charges of hypocrisy levelled
at the European Union over its ban on seal products. Critics
repeatedly point to Spanish bullfights or French foie gras production
as evidence of Europe's poor animal welfare record. While these
practices deserve criticism, the truth is that Europe is light years
ahead of Canada in animal welfare policy. In fact, among developed
countries, Canada is at the bottom of the league in its treatment of
animals.

It is a well-documented fact that the European Union has led the world
in reforming farm animal welfare, working to reduce the suffering of
hundreds of millions of animals. Some examples:

In 2007, the EU banned veal crates. The crates, so small that the
incarcerated calf cannot turn around for most of its 16-week life,
have been illegal in Britain since 1990.

Sow stalls, which keep pregnant pigs in such close confinement they
are virtually unable to move throughout their 16-week pregnancy, will
be banned in the EU in 2013. Tethers, used to further restrict sows'
movement, were prohibited in 2006.

The EU has agreed to ban battery cages for laying hens in 2012,
stopping a practice that denies the birds virtually all their natural
behaviours and keeps them so cramped they cannot even flap a wing.

All these systems and practices remain in use in Canada, where farm
animal welfare is governed by an entirely voluntary, unaudited set of
"recommended codes of practice."

Moreover, the EU is committed to further advancing animal welfare
reform. A protocol in the Treaty of Amsterdam legally recognizes
animals as sentient beings and requires member states to "pay full
regard to the welfare requirements of animals." Animal welfare
standards are being incorporated in EU trade agreements.

Farm animal welfare is also moving forward elsewhere. California
recently banned battery cages, sow stalls and veal crates. Colorado,
Florida, Oregon, Arizona and Maine have passed legislation banning
intensive confinement systems. Nothing comparable is happening in
Canada.

A report by the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS)
released earlier this year ranked Canada well behind Australia, New
Zealand, the United States and the EU in terms of farm animal welfare.
The report found that all these jurisdictions spent millions of
dollars on animal welfare, while Canada's latest five-year agriculture
plan virtually ignores the issue. The CFHS, a mainstream organization
representing most of Canada's SPCAs and humane societies, said
Canada's record was "shameful."

The same could be said of Canada's treatment of animals generally. In
2008, all Canadian animal welfare organizations loudly opposed Bill
S-203, the federal government's hopelessly weak animal cruelty
legislation. Despite this opposition, the bill passed, leaving
Canada's animals without the kind of legal protection they have in
other countries. The legislation's predicted ineffectiveness has been
borne out, with several horrific animal cruelty cases resulting in
little or no penalty for the perpetrators. This included the acquittal
of a man who killed five dogs with a hammer and the case of man who
threw a kitten off a balcony and then ran over it with his car ? the
charges were dropped. The CFHS says Michael Vick, the American
football player charged for involvement in a dogfighting ring, would
not have been convicted had his crimes taken place in Canada.

Less than one-quarter of one per cent of charges under the animal
cruelty provisions of the Criminal Code result in convictions. An
International Fund for Animal Welfare survey of animal cruelty laws in
14 countries ranked Canada last in a comparison of effective animal
protection legislation.

Despite all this, defenders of Canada's commercial seal hunt continue
to point at Europe's bullfighting and foie gras. Yet a closer look
reveals that there is considerable European opposition to both
practices. Fifteen European states, including Germany, Norway, Denmark
and Austria, have banned the production of foie gras. Bullfighting is
banned in a number of EU countries, including the United Kingdom, the
Netherlands, Germany and Italy. Polls show most Europeans abhor
bullfighting. Even within Spain there is opposition ? Barcelona banned
the practice in 2004. Foie gras and bullfighting are staunchly
defended by entrenched minority interests, but everyone can see which
way the wind is blowing.

To people who really care about animals, all the finger pointing and
accusations of hypocrisy criss-crossing the Atlantic are meaningless.
What matters is progress in ending animal suffering.

Sadly, in Canada, we are not making much.

__._,_.___

World Animal Day

WORLD ANIMAL DAY 14 Hewlett Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL52 6AA United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)1242 252871 Email: info@worldanimalday.org.uk Website:www.worldanimalday.org.uk SHOW THE ANIMALS YOU CARE - BE PART OF SOMETHING SPECIAL Dear Friends A few weeks ago I wrote encouraging you to start thinking about how you will celebrate World Animal Day this year. We would very much like you to join us and help build the World Animal Day initiative. Our aim is to connect animal lovers throughout the world and unite the animal welfare movement at this special time. Increased awareness of animal related issues will eventually lead the way to improved standards of animal welfare throughout the globe - and what an achievement that will be! For animal welfare organisations, it's a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness of your work and do some fundraising. For others, why not organise an event and do some fundraising for an animal charity in your area. The website (www.worldanimalday.org.uk) is full of ideas (fundraising & educational) to get you thinking, and we are sure you will be able to think of plenty of your own! Why not take a look at the Roundup of last year's events for more inspiration. Simply click on the links from the website home page (below the slide show) to event reports covering Africa, Asia, Australia & NZ, Europe, Central & South America, UK and USA. At the bottom of each of these pages you will find a link to additional image galleries. The website has an online 'Events Diary' to provide free publicity for all World Animal Day events, so please send a paragraph or two about your event as soon you can and we'll register it. Don't forget, your event can take place up to 2 weeks either side of 4 October and still be advertised on the website - as long as it's being advertised as a World Animal Day event of course! When your event has been added I'll let you know and, as plans progress, you can update the information by sending me an email. Plus, after World Animal Day we will publish your report and images on the website. I look forward to hearing from you very soon and sincerely hope you decide to get involved this year. Please help spread the word about World Animal Day by including information in a newsletter and / or by creating a website link. Full instructions for a number of different styles of weblink are available in the 'Resources' section of the website where you will also find the World Animal Day logo in various formats. Kind regards Caroline Barker Project Manager, World Animal Day Tel: +44 (0)1242 252871

Top 20 Under 20 awards: researchers, entrepreneurs and activists

Youth in Motion's award winners include cancer treatment researchers, a 12-year-old fundraiser and a mountain climber

June 02, 2009 05:45 PM EDT

Youth in Motion (www.youth-in-motion.ca) is the non-profit organization that runs the annual Top 20 Under 20, a national awards program that celebrates young Canadians who have demonstrated a significant level of innovation, leadership and achievement.

Applicants can be nominated, or nominate themselves, and must be under 20 on Dec. 31, 2008.

Winners are selected by a volunteer national judging panel of people who have made significant contributions in education, business, and the not-for-profit sectors.

Winners receive a bursary of up to $5,000 to be applied toward an educational experience. They also attend a four-day leadership summit and receive career coaching.

Profiles of the winners (whose ages are listed as what they were on Dec. 31, 2008) appear alphabetically below.

Please send questions to the winners at top20@youth-in-motion.ca. Their answers will appear below the profiles.

---

James Brooks, 12, London, Ont.

By Marjo Johne

There were a dozen things James Brooks could have bought with the $100 gift he got for his eighth birthday. But then he read about Kanzi, a bonobo that can communicate with people, who was living in Iowa. So he donated his birthday money to the organization that looks after the celebrity ape.

"Monkeys and apes were always my favourite animals," says James, who is now 12. "But then I found out that apes are an endangered species and I thought 'I really want to help.' " Having already raised about $4,000 for the Great Apes Trust by asking friends and family to make donations in lieu of birthday gifts, James decided to help the widows of park rangers in the Democratic Republic of Congo who were killed by ape poachers.

Last year, he started 1000 Classrooms. Through its website, www.1000classrooms.org, James is working to collect at least $3 each from 1,000 classrooms across Canada, money that will be used to buy henhouses. "The idea is to set up the widows with chicken houses so they can sell eggs and make some income," says James, who has so far collected money from about 70 classrooms. "But by bringing the program to classrooms, I can also teach thousands of kids about apes and maybe inspire them to help as well."

http://www.globecampus.ca/in-the-news/article/top-20-under-20-awards-researchers-entrepreneurs-and-activists/

INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO STOP THE CONSTRUCTION OF A PRIMATE BREEDING FACILITY IN PUERTO RICO

Please support the international campaign to stop the building of a primate breeding facility in Guayama City in Puerto Rico. There is already local opposition to this construction and we want to offer our support by launching an international effort to stop Puerto Rico from becoming a major player in the cruel trade in primates for research. We understand that the project is being led by Bioculture, a primate supply company from Mauritius that ships long-tailed macaques around the world to be used in research
Such a proposal is highly controversial and is a major step backwards at a time when the ethical and scientific use of nonhuman primates in research is being challenged internationally by scientists as well as others.
Primates are highly intelligent, social animals with complex behavioral and psychological needs. The cruelty and suffering involved in the international trade in primates for research has been well documented; in particular, the injuries and mortalities involved in the capture of monkeys from the wild and the stress and suffering involved in their confinement in captivity. The common fate of many primates in the research industry is to be used in toxicity testing which involves the forced ingestion, inhalation or injection of potentially lethal and poisonous chemicals
Please help by writing to the following people calling on them to dissociate Puerto Rico from the suffering and cruelty inherent in the trade in primates for research. If the construction is allowed to go ahead then this will not only result in the suffering of thousands of monkeys, it will also have a negative and detrimental impact on Puerto Rico’s image abroad.

Hon. Glorimari Jaime
Municipio Autonomo de Guayama
Oficina de Plan de Orden Territorial
P.O. Box 360.
Guayama
Puerto Rico 00785-0360

Congressman Pedro Pierluisi1218 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515
Fax: (202) 225-2154E-mail: PR00-WYR@housemail.house.gov
Thank you
British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV)
http://www.buav.org/home

International Primate Protection League (IPPL)
http://www.ippl.org/

A Very Relaxed Pepper/Pepper décontractée

One afternoon this week I was on my smoothie round and went upstiars to see the gang up there, Pepper, Jeffy, Sue Ellen and Regis and there was sweet little Pepper all sprawled out on her side, her little feet clutching and leaning on her arm like she was posing for someone, it was so adorable I just had to take a picture!

La semaine dernière, alors que j'étais occupée à faire la distribution des lait frappé, je suis montée voir le groupe qui s'y trouvait donc Pepper, Jeffy, Sue Ellen et Regis. La belle Pepper se prélassait en s'appuyant sur son bras comme si elle posait pour une caméra. Elle était si adorable que je n'ai pu m'empêcher de prendre une photo!

Regis chillin with his pablum!!
Regis relax avec son pablum!!

Chimp favorites

This week the chimps have been loving the Cinnamon Cranberry Flax Muffins we have been serving with hot tea. Try them out they are amazing!

Cinnamon Cranberry Flax Muffins

1 c whole fresh cranberries
1 1/4 cup ground flax seed meal
3 tbs cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs, beaten (or egg replacement)
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tbs vanilla
2 tbs grated orange peel
3/4 c chopped walnuts or pecans (optional for topping)

Preheat oven to 350F
Butter muffin tins. Makes from 12-24 muffins - paper liners will stick not suggested

1. Pour boiling water over cranberries. Let set for 5 min. and pour off water.
2. Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients (not cranberries yet) separately, then mix together.
3. Let mixture stand for 10 min to thicken.
4. Fold in cranberries
5. Fill each muffin cup about half way and sprinkle with nuts.

Bake about 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Each muffin has 2 grams of effective carbohydrates plus 6 grams of fibre and 6 grams of protein.

Farm Folks

Lulu, Lilly and Elvis looking for fresh grass and bugs!!

Katrina, Poquita and Albert enjoying their morning breakfast!!

Wish list for the Chimps

We are running low on good toys for the chimps and seeing that summer is comming the usual tables and pools for indoor and outdoor parties are of great need. Here are some ideas of thing things the chimps really enjoy!!

http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B001D6GJ78/sr=1-3/qid=1243267626/ref=sr_1_3/186-8152161-7188523?ie=UTF8&searsBrand=core&mqnodeid=397897011

http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000HU71CS/sr=1-2/qid=1243267626/ref=sr_1_2/186-8152161-7188523?ie=UTF8&searsBrand=core&mqnodeid=397897011

http://www.beyondplay.com/ITEMS/M825.HTM

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/5/SportsRec/PoolsAccessories/Pools/PRD~0813504P/Polyethylene%2BPool%252C%2B60-in..jsp

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/2/OutdoorLiving/PatioFurniture/PatioTables/PRD~0880087P/Resin%2BSide%2BTable%252C%2BMocha.jsp

Amazing Gifts

One of Faunas great supporters Pieternella Kleij (also known as Aunt Nel) finally had the opportunity to come and visit with her husband, we all had a wonderful day and aunt Nel was able to spend time with the chimps in the chimp house, and see all her friends in person she was extremely grateful for the opportunity. Like usual Nel brought amazing gifts for the chimps that she made herself, as well as new gifts. Hand made scrunchies that Toby loved, had made small blankets for Sophie, Fleece blankets, book and much more. Her grand children Carly Ann, Bianca, Jordalyn and Antonia also donated some stuffed animals.

Frances Dittenhoffer adopted Chance and Toby and also sent them personal gift.

Valerie Mongeau one of Faunas former volunteers, surprised the chimps with two bins full of all their favorite things. She said that she had received a promotion at her work and wanted to spoil her friends. There was Pabulum for Regis, Purses for Suzie, Flinstone vitamins for everyone and tons of new toys. Valerie was an amazing volunteer and always keeps in touch for updates about the chimps. Thanks Val!!

Work in progress

It is almost summer and all the Fauna employees are busy getting the fields, gardens and tress planted and ready for the sun.

Here are some pictures of our work in progress...

Cedars being planted near one of the horse pastures, a freshly seeded pasture

Mr. Puppy's garden by the office is comming along nicely!